Hairy Ghoul of Tazalaght

Overview

Women set out to seek a monster that has appeared at Tazalaght. It comes toward them and asks where they are going. Its visible body puzzles them: it is entirely covered in hair, and they ask whether it is a human being. The creature replies that it is a creature of God and wants only a little water to drink. They answer that they have none and fear it. The encounter begins with reciprocal speech and a request for water rather than an immediate attack.

The monster then carries off one woman. The narrator says nobody knows where the pair went. The remaining women flee home; two are said to die from fear, while two remain ill for eight months. The account ends there, preserving the disappearance without supplying a rescue, marriage or death for the abducted woman. Basset’s heading identifies the regional witness as Chelha of the Sous, and the text labels the being a ghoul. Its explicitly represented appearance is the covering of hair, not an elaborate anatomy borrowed from other ghoul traditions.

Origins & earliest records

René Basset, Contes populaires berbères (Paris, 1887), no. 28, complete pp. 60. Preface xiv assigns no. 28 to a contributor from Massat living at Tétouan. Note 55, printed p. 166, identifies El Hadj Mohammed of Massat, who dictated the unpublished Chelha text to Basset at Tétouan in 1883; the original note has been inspected in facsimile.

Records & interpretation

Entire French episode inspected in actual original-edition DjVu pages 98, printed pp. 60, including the complete ending. Preface xiii–xiv original images checked; written collection and direct dictation contexts are distinguished. Original printed p. 166, note 55, also inspected for the named contributor and dictation date.

Selected bibliography

Documented works and useful reading. This is not a list of every appearance.

1. 01

   Contes populaires berbères

   René Basset, French translator and editor; source contributors identified in preface and notes · 1887

   No. 28, complete pp. 60; Preface xiii–xiv. Preface xiv assigns no. 28 to a contributor from Massat living at Tétouan. Note 55, printed p. 166, identifies El Hadj Mohammed of Massat, who dictated the unpublished Chelha text to Basset at Tétouan in 1883; the original note has been inspected in facsimile.

Family & connections

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References

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1. Primary collected narrative; original facsimile inspectedOriginal edition, complete narrative 28Research access: 2026-10-05

Image credits

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